by christina wagner
It was the hottest day in Jacksonville to date and I was dressed to bartend an hour from now. I had not yet heard from Tokyo Rose’s publicist and was a little bit worried about it, but I had connections. I phoned my friend down at Thee Imperial and he laid down the groundwork. They were now expecting me and I was making my way from one meeting to another. I pulled up to the venue and found myself surrounded by mini-rockettes (band dudes and super-fanatics). Pretty much what I expected. What I did not expect was the wall of man-sweat and heat that struck me like a ton of bricks when I entered the front door. It was almost like the ninth wonder. Arizona felt like a walk-in cooler in comparison.
Somewhere between emo and power-pop is Tokyo Rose. Their new album, The Promise in Compromise thrives in that almost-punk genre that is oh-so popular on the video channels, but instead of Warped Tour, these guys are forging their path in the club circuit. Although not the usual hardcore fare that club-goers have come to expect from Thee Imperial, Tokyo Rose still fits the bill for the new rock kids that are willing to swelter in the heat as they wait for the show to get underway. To be honest, I didn’t have a lot of hope that these guys would be worth my time. I expected big egoes and overcompensation during our brief Q&A.
The people at the club reassured me that the guys were swell and they had enjoyed great experiences with them in the past, so I decided to look upon them with a fresh pair of eyes. I’m glad that I did. He was right. I sat down with Ryan Dominguez (vocals, guitar) and Chris Poulsen (bass) outside of the back parking lot for a few minutes. I had not heard of Tokyo Rose until EU’s office manager placed a printed email from their publicist in front of me during the editorial meeting. I might not be about all the hip rockers on Fuse, MTV and the radio, but I’m usually well-informed on the underground scene.
After doing a bit of research, I found their music to be extremely accessible and very well-promoted. These guys were almost like my arch nemesis, seemingly doomed for a butt-load of questions destined to make them look like fools, but their obvious class proved me wrong. They were poised and ready. Even though I attempted to pull out the inner asshole in them, they were surprisingly prepared for the worst, much to my distain.
When asked who is best to spoon with in the tour, the response was split between Derek from Bedlight for Blue Eyes, being that he was “cuddly,” and Brian from Sound the Alarm, being that he was five feet tall and didn’t seem to take up much room. Based out of Brunswick, New Jersey, there’s a lot for this band to live up to. Jersey was the foundation for such stellar acts as The Bouncing Souls, Thursday, My Chemical Romance and The Misfits, so there is very little room for error in this high-profile breeding ground.
Although power pop is easy to digest, it’s almost impossible to set yourself apart from your peers, but these veterans are secure with their product.
“We go with what comes off naturally, but if it comes off being hooky, then more power to it. We try to write what’s off the top of our head and what’s on our chest lyrically.”
How they conduct their Internet promotions on websites such as MySpace is not intrusive, but accurately informative.
“People that sign up on our account sign up to be informed, or so we would hope, and so we keep them informed, but that’s kind of where it ends.”
All in all it was a basic interview, but I was somewhat disappointed. I wish they would have left their guard down a bit. I felt like I was dealing with Paris Hilton’s publicist.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
